Today we talk to the king and Constantine.

Let's get started.

Sir.

I will live with perseverance in the spirit of Taekwondo, courtesy for fellow students, integrity within myself and to become a black belt leader.

Welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.

Ladies and gentlemen, instructors, students, parents, athletes, masters, grandmasters of ATA Nation, welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.

My name is senior master Zach Hayden and I am your host for the show.

This is episode 138.

Can you believe that?

138.

And this year, 2025, we've been doing bi weekly episodes.

I'm calling them fortnightly episodes.

Not like the game.

I think we need to bring back the British term fortnite, not game.

And that's because we've been also partnering with ATA and doing a exclusive podcast for our ATA licensees.

Oh, it's such a cool podcast.

We've been doing a live video show.

It's so much fun.

But we have had to go to fortnightly bi weekly for this podcast.

But here's the thing, if you noticed, last episode we have partnered with the junior brand ambassadors to help highlight these athletes of the week.

We got connected with them and we're a little behind.

So to catch up and help highlight the athletes that we've already been highlighting on social media, we're going to do these episodes this week.

This is the second episode this week.

So you're getting two ATA Nation podcast episodes in one week.

Perfect to listen to and be inspired by on your way to your next tournament or training.

And then next week we're going to have two episodes as well.

Then we'll be caught up and we'll be doing weekly episodes for a while to help you get to see interviews with these athletes.

There's just a little longer than those social media highlights, so we're excited about it.

We really want to thank the junior brand ambassadors for the time they've put into this.

Want to thank the athletes of the week for submitting to to become an athlete and of course for inspiring ATA Nation.

So we're going to get started right now with our first athlete of the week this week.

Special guest interview ATA Nation.

I'm super excited.

We have another one of our athletes of the week from the brand ambassadors.

They've been picking these athletes of the week and we've one with us today.

This is Mr.

King Mario.

How's it going today?

Is it going good?

Excellent.

Well, before you know, I got a couple of questions for you.

Tell us first, where do you train?

Who's your instructor?

And like, what's your rank?

I train at World Class Martial arts in Henderson, Nevada and my instructors are Ms.

Master Church and Chief Master Church.

Very cool.

They are some awesome instructors out there.

What's your, what's your favorite part of being out there at the world.

World Class and with the.

The churches?

My favorite part, I really don't know my favorite part, but it's really all of it, right?

It's all awesome.

So we were just talking before we click record about your favorite thing to do at tournaments.

So what.

What is your favorite?

Like, are you a sparring guy?

An extreme guy?

Weapons guy?

What's your, what's your favorite thing?

Um.

Extreme.

Extreme.

Yeah.

I love it.

Hey, I don't know I didn't ask you this beforehand, so I.

I should have asked you before we started, but.

Have you been to one of those ATMX gatherings down in Little Rock?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Did you.

Did you go to the one we just had just recently?

No, not this year.

Couldn't make it.

No problem.

I gotcha.

It's a pretty good event.

So extreme.

What is it about extreme that you like to do?

Is it the flips, the tricks?

Is it the screaming and yelling?

Is it the getting to be creative on your own?

What do you love?

I like.

I like the flips and tricks that I learned every time.

That's awesome.

I love it.

Hey, what.

What do you, what, what got you started in martial arts?

Did mom and dad just be like, hey, I'm dragging into this place, or do you watch something on tv?

And you were like, hey, I want to be an angel like these guys?

What got you started martial arts?

I started when I was three years old.

I was very shy and I didn't know how to make friends, so my mom decided to put me in Taekwondo.

She thought it would help me with social skills and getting.

Making new friends and.

And how has that gone?

Has it helped some?

Yeah, it has.

I make friends all the time in tournaments.

I'm sure.

Yeah.

What, what rank are you now?

I forgot to ask.

I'm Blackville.

Excellent.

Very cool.

You got some goals for becoming like a world champ?

Grandmaster.

What kind of goals you got out there?

China at least get six world Champs.

Nice.

Awesome.

Have you gotten world champs already?

No, not yet.

Not yet.

Okay.

Six world champs.

That's a pretty awesome girl.

I like that, man.

Okay.

One of the things we like to talk about when we're, you know, these martial artists.

What's it mean to you to be one of these athletes that's going beyond the belt?

What's it mean to go beyond the belt to you.

Being an athlete beyond the belt means to me being inspirational and helping others as others have helped me.

Oh, I love that.

Being inspirational.

That's really great.

And how cool is it to be picked as one of these athletes of the week to see your your stuff on Instagram and all over by the brand ambassadors?

What do you think of that?

I think it's pretty cool.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Pretty fun.

Yeah.

I think it is awesome to see people like you highlighted out there.

We have so many amazing athletes and, you know, people going beyond the belt in ata and it's great.

You know, we've got these awesome brand ambassadors, but having them highlight you guys more students out there I think is just super awesome.

So, hey, King Mario, we love having you as part of ATA nation.

Thanks so much for being an awesome student out there, an awesome competitor, and keep inspiring people.

Okay?

Thank you, sir.

King Mario, what an epic name.

Such an inspiration.

Would love to see these athletes across the country.

Let's go now to our first adult athlete that was featured by the junior brand ambassadors.

Here it is, ATA Nation.

We are back with another awesome ATA athlete.

How are you today, ma'am?

Hello, sir.

I am good.

How are you?

Awesome.

Can you introduce yourself?

Tell us where you're from, who you train with and what rank you are.

Okay, great.

I am Jamie Constantine.

I live in Trinity, Florida and I train at Elite360 studio with Chief master Rodriguez and senior master Warnes.

And if I can, today when we're recording, this is actually senior master Warren is his birthday.

So I just wanted to say happy birthday to her and I'm so grateful to train under her leadership.

Yes, yes.

Happy birthday.

I saw that today.

That's awesome.

And what's your rank?

I am currently brown belt and I will be testing very soon.

Coming up, I think it's this week because I'm leaving out of town, but I will be testing for my red belt.

Nice.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you.

I think if I'm not mistaken, you might be the lowest rank.

Not that that's a bad thing, but athlete that they have highlighted so far is if I'm not mistaken.

So congratulations.

That's pretty awesome.

Thank you.

I'm honored.

Yeah.

So what?

First of all, how did you get in into martial arts?

So I like to make short stories long.

So I'll try to do this, make a long story short, if I could.

It really began I would say like in 2020, like around Covid time.

Right.

Quarantine is kind of like the launch of TikTok.

I love social media, obviously.

So I'm scrolling and I came across a video and I'm sure a lot of people have seen this martial artist out there and it was this young gorgeous woman by a waterfall doing a jump, jump round kick or it was a jump kick, breaking a board.

And when I saw that video, something instantly like, I, I never really had a desire, honestly like for my entire life to truly be a martial artist.

But some reason I saw this video, I'm like, super cool.

Looks exciting, she looks amazing.

And I'm like, I want to do that.

I want to join martial arts or I want to become a martial artist.

And I ended up talking to my husband about it.

I talked to some of the gentlemen I worked out with at the gym, they owned martial arts studios locally.

And I let them know I'm like, I want to be a martial artist.

And there was one guy that said, you know, I'll tell you the same thing that I told my wife, something that she's interested in.

Maybe you could take like a kickboxing class or something.

And I was like, no, I don't want to do it necessarily just for fitness and I don't want to take a kickboxing class.

I want to genuinely be a martial artist.

There is something in me that was just saying I wanted, like I wanted to do something cool.

In my mind, I thought that was super cool and I wanted to see what that lifestyle would be like.

Yes.

Fast forward a little bit.

We were out to dinner with some friends and a really good friend of ours, Ms.

Tammy Gaston.

She was letting us know, she's like, hey, coming up soon, we heard that there is an ATA school opening in Trinity.

And she's like, I'm going, I'm joining.

And background story on that.

Ms.

Gaston and her husband and their family used to own a marshall ATA school in Colorado I believe it was.

So she didn't want to train anywhere else besides ata.

So she was really excited when she found out that there was a school opening that was ata locally.

So I looked at my husband, I was like, I've been telling, I've been telling Mike, this is it, this is it.

Yes.

And she's like, come with me, come with me.

I came to the first class, it was me and then her daughter in law and a couple of other friends that came along.

And since day one I just, I, I'm so grateful for that.

I'm grateful for that opportunity.

And since then I've just become extremely passionate not only about martial arts but with ATA in general, and that's basically of the start of where all of that happened.

So for you, that idea of being a martial artist, not just playing it by kickboxing or whatever that way and doing your little, you know, they do the fitness kickboxing, which is just like whatever.

I'm kicking and punching to burn some calories.

So has it been what you thought it would be by becoming a martial artist?

You know, it's.

I didn't even know what to expect, to be quite honest with you.

But I guess when I kind of look back at it in reality, it's really not what I expected because I thought, number one, I thought it would be unattainable and that that was just me realistically starting this.

And I'll tell everybody my age right now.

I'll be 46 coming up in June, I think if I do the math right and just starting martial arts, you know, just a couple of years ago, I didn't know if that is.

Was something that I was even, even capable of doing.

So not necessarily knowing what my expectations were.

I thought it was going to be super hard because I thought it was going to be like super ninja like and.

But pleasantly surprised in the aspect that I've learned so much about the sport in general and then I've learned a lot about myself and just learning the process of what it does take to be a true martial artist.

There's so many different levels and there's just so many different parts of being a martial artist that I'm just pleasantly surprised at how, how much of a great experience it's been so far and the things that I've learned, which I never thought that I could do physically, mentally, all of that.

So it's kind of like I guess exceeded expectations that I never really knew that I had, if that makes any sense.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Now, have you been an athlete in other ways?

You were talking before that you were, you did working out and stuff or the other sports that you had played in the past?

So no, I was.

I never really considered myself an athletic person, which is super funny because I never consider myself to be coordinated.

And honestly, it's kind of like that self confidence thing because I never felt confident enough to be in sports, you know, as a kid or as a teenager.

My parents never really placed me in that sort of thing.

I did maybe like one season of volleyball at some point.

I was kind of like a bench warmer, but I kind of helped out here and there.

I did one year of Cheerleading, but never anything super athletic rather than, I mean, just other than working out at the gym and just kind of staying in shape.

In 2014, I did compete in my very first and only NPC bikini competition.

That helped me with my mindset with certain things in different ways, but still, it's just a lot different as far as athletic abilities are concerned.

So what would you say, you know, you're an adult who started martial arts, you know, you weren't.

Didn't have an athletic background necessarily.

There's a lot of moms that are listening, you know, that are their kids do martial arts, or, you know, other adults that are, you know, just like, ah, this is not for me.

This is for a bunch of kids.

What would you tell them to be like, hey, time to get on the mat?

Yeah, it's definitely time to get on the mat.

Because I always, whenever I share my journey or I share my story with someone, I.

I want to show them that it's.

It's a reality.

Like, it's totally attainable, it's totally achievable, regardless of how athletic you are, how much in shape you are, it's really just trusting that process.

Right.

Because even if there's a hint that maybe you're thinking of wanting to do it, or it's kind of crossed your mind a little bit, why, why not, like, why not step on the mat and give it a try?

Because you're never going to find out until you give yourself that opportunity.

Worst case scenario, you go and you step on the mat, you give it a try a couple of times, and you're like, okay, not for, like, not for me.

Absolutely, completely, 100%, this is not something that I'm interested in.

But I can say, I mean, from experience and also from what I've seen with other moms and other women and adults that have joined our studio here in Trinity, that some of their intentions were either to.

To do it with their kids, right?

To do something.

Their kid is doing martial arts.

And they're like, this will be a great time for us to spend time together.

And they are also pleasantly surprised that they themselves have fallen in love with it.

And whether it's their intent, whether it was their intention to be a martial artist or not, just to have family time, my perspective and from what I've seen from my friends that are doing it, there's something that sparks within you, and then you start to see that.

Okay, I don't have to start where I'm seeing everybody else.

Yes, right.

Because I think that's what scares us a little bit is we, like, we.

Everybody watches somebody's journey.

Everybody's keeping an eye and being inspired by somebody.

And a lot of times, all they see is the successes or they kind of already see them at the point where they're doing well, but when they start to do it, they start to understand that it's like, okay, I am.

I'm getting there because I'm doing that little thing that I didn't even think that I could do, just the smallest thing.

And then it just becomes a process, and it's really trusting that.

So it's really just taking that first step and knowing, you know, give it a try, and you're going to learn and see if it's for you or not.

But I can say with certainty that you'll definitely be sparked, that there's something there.

Yes.

I love that advice.

You know, what do they say?

Don't compare, you know, the middle of your journey to the end of somebody else's, or the beginning of your journey to the middle of somebody else's.

We're at different spots.

You know, everybody's beginnings look different.

You know, don't compare to that.

So I love that.

So, athlete of the athlete of the week.

What?

What?

At a tournament, what's your favorite event to compete in?

Okay, so I love them.

All right.

Yes, of course.

So I honestly, I love sparring.

Nice.

Good.

I love combat.

I know there's always progress to be made there.

And I love traditional sparring.

It's just super fun.

Although the nerves can get the best of you before you step on the mat and do it.

But there is just something about sparring that.

And that's.

That's one thing that I learned, too.

I never thought that I would be that person.

Yeah.

But sparring is a lot of fun, and it's.

And that has taught me a lot about myself, too, in martial arts.

Oh, I love that.

Great.

It's been really interesting listening to the different athletes talk about the events that they like more, and then, you know, the events that they're like.

You know, we love them all, of course, but if I had to, you know, skip one.

And what event would that be for you if you had to?

Like, if they forced you to skip an event, what would it be?

If they forced me, like, if I absolutely had to.

Yes.

Which one would you kick to the bottom?

I.

If we.

If we had to.

Which I wouldn't.

But I would probably take traditional forms to the bottom only because that is the one that gives me the Biggest amount of anxiety.

It's all that memorization and making sure you do, like.

I totally understand that.

No, for sure.

I mean, it' you know, extremely creative.

You.

You mess up.

Who knows?

You know, you can add in.

Nobody knows the thing.

But the memorization of forms for a lot of people is just really stressful.

When you get out on the mat and be like, oh, did I do this part?

Did I?

You know, is my foot right here and whatnot.

So I totally understand that.

There's no, no, no problem.

Of course we love them all, and we want to compete with all of them, of course.

But everybody has things that they gravitate towards a little more and then things that they struggle with a little more.

And it's good to.

I.

One of the reasons question is we don't want to say where we don't like something.

And I don't want.

I don't want to say I don't like things.

But I think usually when we say there's something we don't, we enjoy less or we don't, it usually means that's the one we struggle with.

You know, I tell my students all the time that's don't like.

You know, they say they don't like sparring or whatever.

I'm like, well, that's because you're not winning.

No one who is winning all the time doesn't like it.

You know, they're not like, I got first place all the time, and I don't like it.

And so it's usually something that we have to.

We have to work on a little bit more.

And that's why it's on the bottom of our list, because sometimes it's like, you know, I don't want to work on that right now.

I want to do the thing that's fun.

I want to go kick some people or whatever the case might be.

Yes.

And being an adult martial artist starting so new, one of the things that I've learned is that I am an overthinker.

And it has been pointed out to me, you know, as I'm training on the mat and everything, and that's probably why maybe I picked traditional forms, is because I overthink it during training.

I overthink it when I step on the mat to do my form, and then I overthink it after the tournament is done.

But in a way, I do have gratitude in that sense, where then it gives me an opportunity to learn and grow from that.

So it's.

Yep.

And you're not getting away from traditional Forms, you know, I mean, it's there to stay.

You're going to get better, no problem.

Okay, real quick, what does it mean for you to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?

What's it mean?

It means a lot to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt.

Because like I had said earlier, I never really thought that I was the athletic type.

I never really even thought that I was competitive in nature.

And it's taught me a lot about myself and it's taught me to believe in myself more.

It's helped me grow in confidence off the mat, just knowing that I am capable of doing so much more.

Because through martial arts, I've begun to realize that there were things that I never knew but I was able to learn.

And it's.

Let me know that, okay, well, if I just take a step into something, just like I said earlier with having a spark or an interest, then just do it, because it really is about taking that step into something.

So it's definitely opened my eyes a lot more as far as believing in myself and having confidence to being able to accomplish other things that are out there.

And it's also given me a chance to realize that I can also, I guess, in a way, like help inspire other people.

Whether it's in martial arts or not, I see a lot of women or just people in general that can relate to certain things, just life aspects, parenthood, all the things, having small businesses working, all that stuff.

So it's taught me to be able to have a little bit more empathy in that sense, but also help to encourage other people to show them that, like, you can't, like you can do this.

And it's touched so many aspects for me.

And off the mat, it's really helped me to just continue believing in myself and just keep it, keep pushing forward in the things that I want to achieve and know that it is attainable.

I love that.

I think it's, it's, it's so inspiring to see adults that are starting their training in the middle of, you know, the journey to black belt.

It's so great to see.

We appreciate your time.

We appreciate your providing inspiration for others out there in at nation.

So thanks so much.

Thank you, sir.

Foreign.

I think it's super cool to be highlighting some adults as well.

We have all kinds of people across ATA nation competing, being amazing athletes, and we'd love to highlight them.

So next week, tune in again for a double episode with our ATA athletes that have been highlighted by the junior brand ambassador.

Make sure you're hitting the subscribe button on your favorite podcast player, on YouTube, on Spotify, wherever you might be catching this, you can always listen to audio only on your favorite podcast feed.

Go to atanation podcast.com and you can find where to subscribe.

And then of course we have it on the ATAs Facebook on its own playlist as well.

Now let's real quick before we head out of here, let's do a couple of upcoming events.

Let's see, we've got all kinds of tournaments coming up.

Hey, did you guys know that you can check out district times and schedules?

Not schedules, but like where they are already.

Go to atamarcialarts.com and check that out.

Let's look at fall.

Spring Nationals is coming up.

I keep saying fall.

I don't know why.

I'm so sorry.

But we've also got this weekend a bunch of you guys are heading out to Pennsylvania for Grandmaster Crusoe's TOC.

That's a huge one.

Class A Mr.

Cox, the father and instructor of one of the awesome junior brand ambassadors, has a class A in Texas on the 20th, 29th, and then there's one by Chief Master and Senior Master Wegman out in North Carolina that same weekend.

So that's going to be a lot of fun around my area In April we've got some Class A's, McCook, Indiana, or excuse me, Illinois, April 12th, Duluth, Georgia on the 25th and 26th.

And then you can see me at South Bend in Indiana on April 26th.

And then this year we've got these beginning first weekend in May tournaments, which is kind of crazy.

I just don't even know what to say about that.

It's insane.

Lots of B tournaments in April as well.

It's a very busy time for tournaments.

Everybody's getting those last minute points in.

You do not want to miss out on that.

So head over to atamatialarts.com make sure you're following all the social media so you know what's coming up.

And until next time, make sure you're out there going beyond the bells.

Podcast doesn't give me really good data on who stays to the very end.

Podcasts are a little harder to get that data.

YouTube does though.

And you guys aren't staying for the secret part.

Disappointed.

You podcast people, good job.

You guys are heroes.

I love.

See you next week.